Court denies bypass injunction

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White denied the motion for an injunction Thursday morning to stop CalTrans work on the Highway 101 bypass around Willits. This leaves CalTrans and the bypass contractors DeSilva Gates Construction and Flatiron West free to gear up for bypass construction in earnest.

Judge White determined the plaintiffs (The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Willits Environmental Center, the Environmental Protection Information Center and the California Farm Bureau) "have not met their burden to show the balance of equities tip sharply in their favor or that the public interest clearly favors the issuance of an injunction."

In part the judge determined the plaintiffs' case was weakened because they waited to request the injunction until after the contract was awarded. This was contrasted with the recent injunction granted against CalTrans for plans to straighten the highway through Richardson's Grove redwoods. The motion for the Richardson's Grove injunction was filed prior to CalTrans advertising for bids.

While the judge did not rule out the possibility of the plaintiffs succeeding in their lawsuit against CalTrans, he stated "on the existing record, the court concludes that they have not met their burden to show either a likelihood of success on the merits of their National Environmental Policy Act claim or that there are serious questions going to the merits of that claim."

The judge also noted, "the Moving Plaintiffs do not contend that CalTrans should not proceed at all on the Willits Bypass Project. Rather, their position is that, in light of purportedly new information and new circumstances, "[r]easonable two-lane alternatives exist," and CalTrans should have prepared a supplemental EIS to evaluate those alternatives.

"In order to prevail [in the lawsuit] on the merits, the Moving Plaintiffs will be required to show that the [CalTrans] decision not to prepare a supplemental EIS was arbitrary or capricious."

The next hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for November 16 for a case management conference.